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AN 



ADDRESS ON EDUCATION, 



DKLITEBED ON THE DAY OF THE 



LAYING OF THE COIINEK-STONE 



NEWBERRY COLLEGE, 



JULY 15, 185V. 



JOHN BACH MAN, D.D 

PRESIDENT 01" THE liOAIlD OF TRUSTEES. 



CHARLESTON, S. C. 
JAMES iK; WILLIAMS, PIlINTKllS. 

1 C S T A T K . B T R K Ji T . 

1 8 5 7. 






In Exchange 

Peabody Inst, of Balto, 

June 14 1927 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



POMARIA, S. C, JULY 17lh, 1857. 
Rev. J. Bacuman, D.D. 

Dear Sir — At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of Newberry College^ 
hold yesterday, the uadersigaed were appointed a committee to solicit for 
publication, a copy of the very able and interesting address delivered by you 
on the occasion of laying the corner-stone of the college building. 
Sincerely hoping you may be able to comply with our request, we are 
Yours very respectfully, 

T. S. BOINEST, 

O. B. MAYER, I Committee. 

V. TODD, 



Rev. T. S. Boinest, Dr. 0. B. Mayer, and Dr. P. Todd. 

Geiillemeii — The address alluded to, in too flattering terms, in your note, 
was hastily written, and without an idea that its publication would be calle*^ 
for. Under the hope, however, that it may awaken an additional interest in 
favor of tlie institution we are all desirous of fostering, I will waive all 
private considerations, and clieerfully place tlie manuscript at your disposal. 

Yours respectfully, 

JNO. BACUMAN. 



ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 



Friends and Fellow Citizens : 

Believing that the event we are commemorating this clay, is 
the commencement, in this portion of our State at least, of a se- 
ries of efforts and labours, in the promotion of knowledge — the 
foundation of enlarged means of usefulness and the increase of 
human happiness, yon will indulge us in inviting your attention 
to a subject which should be prominent in our minds on an oc- 
casion like this, namely that of Education — the rearing up of the 
intellectual and moral man, which is to prepare him for his 
struggles through life, for his labors and efforts in the various 
duties which are before him, including his moral and religious 
training; this latter will impress on his mind the sentiments of 
truth, justice, honour, benevolence and purity of life, fitting him 
for that higher destination to which the Christian aspires — the 
hopes of immortality and the bliss of heaven. 

Education, in th^i general sense of the term, may be defined 
the art of training, instructing the mind and forming the cha- 
racter of the young. 

According to this definition, the education of youth not only 
embraces the instruction given for the regulation of his man- 
ners and his improvements in literature, science and morals, 
but every opinion he has imbibed and every habit he has aquired, 
either from his associations, from the reflections of his own mind 
or from reading the thoughts and sentiments of others. It 
farther includes the regulation of his propensities and passions, 
and that self-government which will preserve him from the con- 
tagion of examples of evil and will enable him to profit by the 
wisdom and virtue of the good. 



b ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 

The importance of a well directed education in tin's compre- 
lieusivc sense of the term is so evident and so generally admit- 
ted, that it would appear to be almost superfluous to enlarge on 
the subject, before this enlightened audience. 

There are however some well disposed persons who do not 
readily admit the importance of any studies that are not prac- 
tically of importance to our own immediate necessities — in other 
words that nothing is worth knowing that does not supply us 
with food and raiment. If time would permit, it could easily be 
shown in what manner education increases the facilities of 
labour and adds to those productions which are necessary to the 
sustenance and comfort of the world. 

We may be told that our forefathers, possessed of very 
limited attainments, were enabled to convert the forest into fer- 
tile fields — that they raised their own products and were as con- 
tented, as virtuous and as happy as any of their successors; — 
Where then, they will ask, is the advantage of contributing so 
largely to the cause of education if so little is apparently gained 
by the change ? In answer to this, we will observe, that if we 
for the sake of argument, admit that this was the case in the 
generation which is now fast disappearing, the important fact 
must not be overlooked, that they were surrounded by men of 
their own pursuits — habits of thought, education and manner of 
life — they had therefore few rivals and being on a general equali- 
ty, they were in a measure freed from the mortifications attendant 
on a consciousness of inferiority. 

But let us not overlook the changed circumstances under 
which the rising generation is summoned to engage in labors and 
efforts that ai'o required of them not only in their social capaci- 
ties, but as men and citizens of our common country. The pro- 
gress of all civilized nations in every department of knowledge 
and especially in scientific attainments, has been unprecedented 
in any former period of the world. Our own population has in- 
creased since the organization of our government from three to 
twenty-six millions — the number of our States has been multi- 
plied from thirteen feeble sovereignties to thirty-one powerful in- 
dependent States, and many territories. The barriers presented 
by the Alleghanies have succumbed to the science and indomitable 
perseverance of our race — the wilderness of the far West has 
yielded and fallen before the axe of the sturdy and independent 
husbandman, and the once solitary desert has been made to "re- 



ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 7 

juice and blosom as the rose." California has yielded its aurife- 
rous treasures. The mighty rivers, among which the father of 
waters in the west, the lakes, the inland seas of the North, the 
wide Pacific Ocean that now rejoices in rolling its billows on our 
own shores, are all whitened with the sails of our commerce; 
and the screams of the loon, the tern and the sea gull have been 
interrupted by the puffing of the huge steamer and all the other 
appurtenances of an enterprising and progressive nation. The 
arts have advanced, and manufactures have multiplied the ar- 
ticles of clothing a thousand fold, through the agency of steam. 
Our railroads are daily increasing the facilities of travel and 
commerce, and our telegraphic wires seem destined to encircle 
the globe and invite to rapid and familiar converse all the na- 
tions of men — so that the ear can catch the sound almost at the 
moment it is uttered on the opposite sides of our hemisphere. 
Science and the arts have combined to supply the necessities, 
comforts and luxuries of the increased population of our teeming 
earth. 

From what sources have all these wonderful improvements 
been derived? Is it it not self-evident that they were solely the 
result of education? Ignorance can never become the mother of 
invention. Unenlightened Africa has stood still for ages and cen- 
turies shrouded in barbarism and gloom, whilst the educated na- 
tions of the world have carried the lights of knowledge, the trea- 
sures of commerce, the aids of civilization and the blessings of re- 
ligion, to the farthest earth. 

Under these improved circumstances, when knowledge is ad- 
vancing with such rapid strides, it is impossible for you not to 
see and to feel that unless you and your children follow in this 
march of improvement, they will be left at an infinite distance 
behind; and instead of being associated, as our fathers were, 
with a band of equals, they will be compelled for want of educa- 
tion to fall back into the lower ranks of life, and have the morti- 
fication of witnessing those who in many circumstances may 
have been their inferiors, now by their improvements in educa- 
tion, rising above them. It is in vain for us to expect that our 
children can maintain their position and prospects of usefulness 
in society without being entered into the ranks in the march of 
human knowledge and pi'ogress. The world will go forward, 
without any regard to our indifference. Men have felt the plea- 
sure which is derived from information and knowledge. They 



8 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 

have experienced its good effects, and one acquisition has brought 
another within their reach. "Knowledge," says Johnson, "always 
desires increase; it is like fire whicli must first be kindled by 
some external agent, but will afterwards propagate itself." We 
may feel assured that in this march of improvement men will not 
take a single step backwards. As soon might we expect that 
the travellers who have been accustomed to the comforts and 
rapidity of the rail road car, would prefer going back to the old- 
fashioned tardy-paced stage-coach — or the community be willing 
to relinquish the fine and cheap products of the steam facto- 
ry for the spinning wheel and the hand loom, as to believe that 
in the present day we could do well enough without schools or 
seminaries of learning, and that a simple cross, with "his mark" 
written above and beneath will confer any addittional respect- 
ability to the individual who is compelled to make it. 

It is almost impossible to conceive to what an extent the prin- 
ciples and conduct of every man, his successes or his mis- 
fortunes, the happiness or misery of his life, depend on his early 
education and training in knowledge, morals and religion. He 
is left by nature a weak and helpless creature; he is dependent 
on the care of others; he cannot provide for his own sustenance 
or safety. But how wonderful is the difference between what 
he is at his birth and what he may become at his maturity. God 
has given him the privilege of enlarging an^ forming his various 
powers by his own diligence and skill, so that with a consider- 
able force of truth, it may be said, he enjoys the proud pre-emi- 
nence of being his own maker. 

We do not desire to be understood as supporting the doctrine 
that every thing in the intellectual and moral system is tll^ re- 
sult of education. It is admitted that the rudiments of disposi- 
tion and capacity are very different as beheld even in children. 
In some, the sensitive powers are quick and lively, whilst in 
others they are dull and sluggish. The external structure of the 
organs of the body and the mind differ widely in different indi- 
viduals, and it is therefore reasonable to suppose that the inter- 
nal structure and the more concealed corporeal system on which 
the offices of the mind depend, must also be essentially different. 

Although it is admitted that education cannot elevate all 
men to the same high standard, it can improve the minds of all 
and greatly increase their capacities for usefulness and enjoy- 
ment. 



ADDRESS ON EDUCATION, 9 

Having presented these views of education in general, let us 
proceed to the subject which is more immediately connected with 
the object of our present assemblage. We met together to-day, 
to lay the corner stone of the first college ever erected in the 
district of Newberry. Its inhabitants have set an example to 
the neighboring districts, of their devotion to the cause of edu- 
cation and of their determination to open the halls of learning 
and science to their children and their posterity. 

A college is an institution endowed with certain revenues, 
with competent professors, where the several parts of learning 
are taught in halls and classes arranged for that purpose. 

A university is an assemblage of several of these colleges. — 
Thus, in the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge 
there are in each upwards of twenty colleges. In the univer- 
sities the different professions, such as theology, law, and 
medicine are taught. The individuals who attend, are men 
who had previously received a collegiate education. They 
simply attend the courses of lectures and are not subject to the 
restraints, the daily tuition, examination and discipline of the 
college. 

In America, universities of this character are less needed, in- 
asmuch as the various religious denominations have theological 
seminaries supported by themselves, and our schools of law and 
medicine are found to prosper most, where they are unconnected 
with the classical, the mathematical and literary studies of the 
common college. 

What is most needed in our country are colleges conducted 
on the plan of the German gymnasiums, where youths are 
thoroughly grounded in those studies pertaining to our colleges — 
where their lessons are daily recited to competent professors — 
where they are stimulated to industry by the honors that await 
the most distinguished, where their moral and religious duties 
are faithfully instilled into their minds, and where a course of 
rigid discipline is observed, by which they will be preserved from 
the contagious examples of vice, imbibe the principles of integ- 
rity and honor, be qualified to fill important stations in life and 
become the ornaments of Society, the pride of their families and 
a blessing to their country. 

Such an institution we have resolved, under the favor of 
heaven, to rear up in your midst. We have met this day to re- 
mind each other of the arduous work we have undertaken to ac- 

9, 



10 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION, 

complisli — to solicit in behalf of our labors and immense expen- 
ditures the countenance and support of patriotic and good men, 
and to invoke the blessings of Almighty God. 

AVe will endeavor, to point out briefly bt, the nature of the 
studies to be be pursued in the college, ^nd, Explain the prin- 
ciples on which the institution is to be conducted, and, 3rd, The 
benefits it is calculated to confer. 

1. The studies to bo pursued are those usually taught in all of 
our colleges. Your sons will be instructed in the classics, the 
mathematics, philosophy, history — in a word enjoy all the ad- 
vantages of other college in the United States, Fortunatly 
there appears no difficulty in obtaining suitable men as 
Professors. Men of sound learning, of unimpeachable charac- 
ters and attached to the peculiar institutions of our Southern 
country. Without this latter essential qualilication they could not 
under any circumstances be received or countenanced among us. 

We yesterday elected as President of this college, a gentleman 
of education, of high principles of honor and integrity, polished 
in manners, eloipient and pious, and a southern man by birth and 
education.* We regard the selection as most fortunate for the 
best interests of the institution. 

We feel confident that we will be able to establish such a dis- 
cipline in the college under the direction of intelligent, firm, and 
able men, that our young men will know that they have entered 
into our institution for the purposes of study, and not to be in- 
dulged in idleness, riot and dissipation, and in those rebellions 
which have so frequently thrown our colleges into chaos. It is 
intended when their course of studies shall have been completed 
that they shall receive their diplomas and graduate with all the 
honors of the college. Owing to the deficiencies in the grammar 
schools in this and the surrounding districts, it will be necessary 
to attach a preparatory grammar school or academy to the col- 
lege, which, altlu)ugh attended with considerable labor and an 
additional expense will be of great advantage to those who are 
preparing to enter the college, and will be of especial benefit to 
the inhabitants of this town, who will be able to have their 
children educated without the necessity of removing them from 
the control and discipline of their families. 

2. In this part of our address it may be necessary to explain 

• Rov. F. K. Aiippacb, of Virginia. 



ADDRKSS ON EDUCATION. 11 

bow far this is intended to be a denominational college. To 
denominational colleges — in the usual meaning of the term — 
that is literary institutions conducted on the sole principle of 
teaching a peculiar set of religious dogmas — we have ever been 
opposed. Our idea is, that whilst students, intended for the 
ministry should be thoroughly grounded in the doctrines of their 
peculiar faith in their own theological seminaries, and that our 
people should be instructed in our churches and Sunday schools 
in those articles of laith which are the characteristics of the 
several bodies of Christians, our halls of learning and science 
should be open to all. Our young men of every religious pro- 
fession are destined to mingle together in all the walks of public 
and private life, and they will be prepared to live and labor in 
greater harmony if they have associated together in the same 
schools and colleges. It is even a matter of regret that in 
our religious views, in our doctrines and forms of worship we 
could not all harmonize. 

lb is true, the church of which he who addresses you is a 
humble representative, is firmly and devotedly attached to the 
sentiments of the reformation, and venerates the name of Luther 
as the father of protestantism and the successful advocate of the 
freedom of religious thought and the holy scriptures as our 
guide in doctrine and in duty; yet that church inculcates an ex- 
tensive charity and liberality in all its opinions and feelings. — 
Its pulpits and its communions are open to all Christians. It has 
never been a proselyting church. Satisfied that our brethren of 
other denominations have adopted from our creed all the doctrines 
that are essential to salvation; we welcome them as of the 
same Christian fold, and devoutly pray that we may all " endea- 
vor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." 

Whilst however this is not designed to become a sectarian col- 
lege, it must not for a moment be supposed, that in this institu- 
tion the great truths of our common Christianity will not be pro- 
minently acknowledged and faithfully inculcated. Sentiments of 
piety should be impressed on the minds of the young and should 
form a part of all our instructions. Religion forms the relation 
between man and his God, not only as the Creator and creature, 
as governor and subject, but as the support of the relation be- 
tween man and man, as the foundation and principle of social and 
moral duties. Religion is equally the basis of private virtue 
and public faith; of the happiness of the individual and the pros- 



12 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 

perity of the nation. Thus far we intend to go, and we feel as- 
sured that every Christian parent, to wliatever denomination he 
may be attached will second us in these resolutions. 

Whilst however the members of the Lutheran church are de- 
sirous of throwing open these halls of learning for the benefit of 
all, wo expect to derive no small advantage from the institution. 
Our theological students who are to succeed their elder brethren 
in the ministry will, with few exceptions be educated here before 
they enter the theological seminary. Few of them have the means 
of meeting the increased expenditures of an education at our 
State college, and they would naturally prefer being associated 
•with professors who they felt assured would take an interest in 
their impi-ovement. Parents of our own faith whose children 
may be destined for other professions than those of the ministry 
will feel greater security in sending their sons here, than to 
more distant colleges in whose discipline they have less confi- 
dence. But beyond the advantages we expect to derive from 
the education of our theological students, we have no interest 
but that which all other denominations will enjoy in common 
■with us. It is true, we have stipulated for a majority in the 
Board of Trustees, but it will be borne in mind that some of 
your most influential and intelligent men, who are not identified 
with our church, are also trustees and co-laborei's with us, and 
their very names will be the guaranties that the affairs of the 
college will be conducted on liberal principles. We have volun- 
tarily assumed a great proportion of the labor; we must make 
provision to meet the heavy expenditures, and we take a large 
share of the responsibility in conducting the affairs of the col- 
lege. Thus it will be perceived that all denominations enjoy 
equal advantages with us as far as the education of their sons is 
concerned. In a word, we voluntarily assume the labor and the 
responsibility, and they will enjoy equal privileges with us with- 
out either labor or responsibility. 

It is difficult to conceive in what other mode a college under 
our peculiar circumstances could be sustained with any prospect 
of success. The State supports its own institution very liberal- 
ly but will not render aid to any other. Our college has not as 
yet been endowed with gifts or legacies and we have no funded 
capital. If we were to depend upon having the college endowed 
by all denominations and have an equal number of trustees among 
the various societies of Christians it would soon be discovered 



ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 13 

that no denomination in particular would take an interest in the 
institution. It would be difficult to convene a Board of TruS' 
tees; sectarian feelings would be generated, and the best in- 
terests of the institution would be jeopardized. This subject h<is 
for many years engaged our earnest and prayerful attention. — 
We could not conscientiously support an institution but on the 
broadest principles of Christian liberality. It is on these prin- 
ciples that we intend this college to be conducted. We have 
called it Newberry College. The name of this growi, g and 
flourishing town and this fertile district will be a rallying point 
to the lovers of learning and science, not only in this district, 
but in those by which you are surrounded. 

Inhabitants of Newberry, it is your college — named after your 
town and district. Cherish her as the young daughter of youx^ 
love and training. Be proud of her for the fair promises she holds 
out to you in the years of her maturity when she will become 
the mother of many sons, whose voices will be heard at the 
forum, the bar, in the Senate and from the sacred desk; and who 
when duty shall require it, will become the defenders of the 
time-honored institutions of our Southern land. Thus, "she shall 
give to thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall 
she deliver to thee." Throw over her the mantle of your protection, 
and bestow on her the fond and benevolent smiles of a parent; 
then, when in other years, men effeminated by luxury and grown 
giddy by the pride of life, shall display their ornaments — their 
gay equipages and their trappings of silver and gold, she, the 
alma mater, like Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, will point 
with proud exultation to her sons, and proclaim, "These — these 
are my jewels." 

3. Let us now proceed to point out some of the advantages 
which we may reasonably hope will be derived from the institu- 
tion whose foundation is this day laid. So full of interest is the 
subject that it is difficult to decide where we ought to begin, 
and equally difficult to be restrained at the point where we 
ought to conclude. 

It must be left to men of more experience in pecuniary affairs, 
to point out to you the advantages which this town will derive 
from an increase in the value of property, in consequence of the 
vicinity of the college. A college always creates a town and 
then a city, wherever it may be located. Families of wealth, 
education and influence will take up their residences there, to 



14 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 

enjoy the advantages of education, and the benefits of society. 
By this means cities have sprung up, v^here before, nothing but 
a solitary farm house existed. This is the result of our expe- 
rience in regard to every college both in Europe and America; 
we are warranted, therefore, in believing that the same results 
will attend our present efforts. 

But, whilst these temporalities are not to be disregarded we, 
should look for far higher and infinitely more beneficial results 
which will flow from our present efforts. Our schools of learn- 
ing and our halls of science are intended to build up the inner 
man and entitle him to the honor bestowed on him by his Maker, 
who has described his high mission and exalted destination in 
these emphatic words: " Thou hast made him a little lower than 
the Angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou 
madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hand; thou 
hast put all things under his feet." 

One of the most important advantages which a well conduc- 
ted college confers on a community is, not the simple rearing up 
of a class of intelligent men who will graduate at the institu- 
tion, but the effects which in the silent progress of time will be 
produced, as the result of the education of the few for the ulti- 
mate benefit of the whole. What is most needed in our southern 
country is an intelligible and practicable system of popular 
instruction — and that the business of teaching should be better 
understood, more highly appreciated, and more liberally remu- 
nerated. The education of the people is the hope of our very 
existence. Such institutions as ours can have no permanent 
standing but on the basis of knowledge and virtue. Our nation 
is passing through a gi-eat trial. Let luxury and excess be per- 
mitted to grow in our cities; let vice stalk abroad fearlessly in 
our villages; let our hardy yeomanry become indolent and ineffi- 
cient; let our noble youth lose the principles of virtuous educa- 
tion, and indulge in extravagance and revelry, then farewell to 
our country's hope. Though the semblance may remain for a 
while, the spirit will have fled forever. 

Another of the great benefits expected to be derived from this 
institution, is that it will supply suitable teachers for our com- 
mon schools, and thus elevate the standard of education among 
our people, A body of intelligent, laborious, virtuous and pious 
professors will exert a most salutary influence on the students 
and the community around them. The students will carry home 



ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 15 

witli them to their families and various neighborhoods, the seeds 
of kliowledge — the love of study and the ambition to excel. 
Parents will be convinced that their money and efforts in behalf 
of the education of their sons, have been doubly remunerated. 
These young men will enter on their various professions — many 
of them will become teachers in our common schools. They 
will from their knowledge and experience be admirably qualified 
for the work before them. A desire and a taste for knowledge 
will be widely diffused among the masses. A well educated 
yeomanry is a blessing to any community. At present, at your 
various agricultural meetings, who are they that address the 
assembled crowds? They are either lawyers, clergymen or 
politicians, and we need not be surprised if men without expe* 
rience should advance wild and speculative theories. Why does 
not the farmer address these meetings? He has moie experience 
and knowledge on these subjects than the combined wisdom of 
all the professional men on the ground. He is now silent be- 
cause he has not been educated. When, however, he shall have 
received the benefits of an education, he will hold up his head 
among his equals, and will save others the trouble of making 
speeches for him, either on agricultural or political subjects. 

Where men are well educated, their wives, sisters and daugh- 
ters will not consent to remain far in the rear. Woman is the 
companion and the equal of man, and it will soon be perceived, 
that although she is not destined to occupy the posts designed 
for the more rugged sex, yet that in all that is valuable in edu« 
cation— in all that can inform the mind, regulate the affections 
and adorn her character, as a Christian woman, she is fully 
capable of qualifying herself for her high destination. 

Thus the college exerts its silent but progressive influence. 
Like the light of the morning, its rays penetrate everywhere. 
In time it changes the aspect of society, and if its teachings of 
knowledge impress on the hearts of men that higher knowledge 
of duty, that leads to salvation, then has she fulfilled her mission 
in rendering man wiser, better and happier, qualified for useful- 
ness on earth, and fitted for the society of angels in heaven. 

If we are told that many valuable men rose to eminence and 
usefulness without a collegiate education — that Washington was 
a wise statesman, a heroic leader of armies, and the best of men 
— that Franklin pierced the clouds and rendered the lightning 
submissive to his call — that Eitteuhouse carried the knowlcdare 



16 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 

of astronomy beyond that of his ag-e — and that our records con- 
tain the biographies of thousands of other great and good men, 
■who are entitled to the gratitude of posterity for their discove- 
ries, or their invaluable services to mankind — and yet, that none 
of these entered within the walls of a college. The answer is 
at hand; these groat and good men were not even the exceptions 
to the general rule, that education is necessary to success in 
every department of life. True, they did not receive collegiate 
educations, but they educated themselves. The work was more 
laborious, but they accomplished it. They acquired knowledge 
by the slow process of study — of thought and self-discipline- 
The college did not make them, but knowledge — that knowledge 
which is taught at the college, many branches of which they 
pursued with the intensity of thought — of reading and study, 
made them great men. Thus, although in one sense they were 
self made men, yet they drank from the same fountain that gave 
pre-eminence to other men, and they are entitled to the addi. 
tional credit of having accomplished great ends by surmounting 
the dijBficulties that, in their cases, obstructed the paths of 
knowledge. 

In speaking of the advantages of education, it is fully ad- 
mitted that there are dissolute and bad men among the educated, 
since all men have inherent propensities to evil, and that in these 
cases their adroitness and skill in the commission of crime 
render them the more dangerous to society. But it cannot be 
denied that crime is more common among the uneducated classes. 
From the statistics of criminals in the penitentiaries in the 
United States, it has been ascertained that five sixths at least, 
are unable to read or write. It should be farther remarked that 
the man of education and polished manners, seldom indulges in 
brutal violence or unpardonable asperity of language; on the 
other hand the ignorant savage has immediate recourse to the 
firebrand or the knife. 

Reading and intellectual pursuits supply those resources to 
the mind which will render it independent ol meaner excite" 
ments. The man who flies to the intoxicating bowl, is led to this 
degrading habit, generally because he has no resources in his 
own mind; — he is unaccustomed to find pleasure in books — his 
evenings are dull to him, — he goes abroad for relief, and gener- 
ally fiuds that relief, which is his ruin. Let such a man be 
educated to the love of knowledge — let him have some acquain- 



ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. IT 

tance witli the laws of nature — ^let him have access to books, 
and leisure to him will not be a burden, nor will his home become 
irksome. lie will find new resources and a new impulse to life, 
and he will be raised above sense and matter to intellect and 
virtue. 

By reading and study, the vast storehouse of nature, the 
mysteries of art and the histories of the past and present gene- 
rations of the world are all brought home familiarly to his mind. 
Within the last few years a visionary sect, calling themselves 
spiritualists, have greatly startled weak minds, by a pretended 
power to recall to the earth the spirits of departed worthies — 
of holding converse with them and extracting a variety of 
opinions from this intercourse. From these conversations it 
would appear that the intellects of these ancient sages have 
become considerably blunted since their long absence from this 
earth. The student, however, need not resort to these necro- 
mances, or to any system of jugglery and fraud to be indulged 
in the priviledge of holding intercourse with the wise and the 
talented of past ages. We cannot enter a well-selected library 
without feeling an inward sensation of reverence, and without 
being excited to emulation by the mass of mind scattered around 
us, We ai'e suddenly introduced into a high and lofty society 
which we cannot find among living men. We associate with the 
men of the past, and find the human mind displayed in its highest 
flights in all its walks through science and the cycle of its thou- 
sand intelligences. We are permitted to ransack all the stores 
of learning and knowledge, and revel in the mysteries of thought. 
Thus we become associated with men whose works have out- 
lived monuments and pyramids, and still survive in unspent and 
undiminished youth. Why, in man's folly, would he call back 
the fossil remains of departed greatness, when we have in 
their works before us, their minds in their fullest development, 
and when they, in their best attire and kindest manner, will 
come to us at our bidding. The pleasure of intercourse with 
minds of the highest stamp — in their works — especially when 
they are presented wearing the garb of hoary antiquity, can 
scarcely be surpassed. 

Have we a taste for classical learning — do we delight in 
going back to the days of ancient Greece and desire to know the 
thoughts and habits of men, before the Christian era ? Wc have 
access to the thoughts, clothed in their own words, of Homer, 



18 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 

Plato, Demosthenes, Xenophon, Plutarch, Sophocles, Pindar, 
Aristophanes, and a host of others; or do we wish to be intro- 
duced into the families of the Romans, their Latin coterapo- 
raries of the same ages, we may turn to Cicero, Livy, Cassar, 
Horace, Virgil, Juvenal, Ovid, Tacitus, and others whose works 
have immortalized their names. Do wo delight in philosophical 
studies ? We may summon Bacon from his closet, and he will 
give us the conceptions of his mighty mind; with him are ready 
to come Locke and Ptcid and Stewart, Condillac, Berkeley, 
Hartley, or Paley. Are our minds thirsting for the knowledge 
that is derived from the higher mathematical stiidies? We may 
at any time call upon Plato, Aristotle, Copernicus, Leibnitz, 
Newton, Kepler, or Herschel. In history and the arts we have 
vast libraries at our command. Are we devoted to the natural 
sciences ? Buffon, Linnseus, Cuvier, and an army of naturalists, 
will wake up at our invitation and tell us the history of the 
earth we tread on — of the birds of the air — the beast of the 
field — the fishes of the sea, and every creeping thing; they will 
also discourse to us of the trees and plants, " from the cedar 
that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of 
the wall." The poets that sung in every age are here also to 
commence their songs anew, and Shakespeare and Milton, Pope, 
and Dryden, Klopstock, Schiller and Goethe, Tasso, Racine and 
Corneille invite us to leave the busy haunts of living men for a 
season and partake of the rich festival, which these departed 
worthies have prepared for all the world. 

But we are compelled to break away from the indulgence of 
these fascinating reminiscenses; not however without recalling 
Milton's lamentation of the mother of the human family when 
driven from Paradise, or the lingering desires of the wife of Lot, 
when she looked back upon Sodom. We are reminded that 
there is danger of relinquishing the duties of life in the luxurious 
leisure of study. The men of letters must resoluiely counteract 
their propensities to indolence and too great a love for retire- 
ment. 

The fact must not be overlooked, that languages and litera- 
ture are far from being the only studies of the college. The 
greater proportion of those studies are of a nature adapted to 
the practical duties of life, and there is no department cither in 
agriculture, in architecture, in mining, in the manufactures, in 
surveying, in the construction of rail roads and canals, in 



ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 19 

composition, in keeping" accounts, and in all that ministers to 
to wealth and comfort that is not aided by those instructions de- 
rived from a collegiate course. Men of reflection and foresight 
can scarcely doubt, that in the course of the next half century 
the value of property in this and the surrounding districts will 
be increased four-fold in consequence of improved modes of agri- 
culture, manufactures, mechanics, etc. In fact you have all the 
resources within yourselves, so that if driven to the necessity 
you could render yourselves independent of the world, not even 
excepting- the production of tea and sugar. All this can be ac- 
complished in no other way than by a general diffusion of know- 
knowledge and its judicious application in those industrial pur- 
suits that contribute to man's wealth and comforts. How far a 
well conducted college will aid you in arriving at these desirable 
results, you are now preparing to ascertain, and the problem 
will be solved by the success or failure of your institution. 

But why wait on the tardy footsteps of time? The problem 
has been already solved. Look at Scotland, with its barren soil 
and ungenial climate, once trodden down and plundered by 
robber chieftains. The seeds of knowledge were sown broad- 
cast among the people, and gradually the nation became regene- 
rated, and they have carried their knowledge, industry and 
enterprise to every land. Look at Switzerland, romantic from its 
towering Alpine mountains, and its deep, but fertile and blooming 
Tallies — rearing its mighty glaciers above the clouds of heaven 
— the land of Tell and of freedom, — shut out from the commerce 
of the world, and without the command of a navigable river 
leading to the ocean. What must such a people do to preserve 
their independence? A solitary republic, surrounded by jealous, 
powerful and warlike monarchies. They discovered the secret 
of human power. In their cities, they reared gymnasiums and 
universities, and in every nook and corner of their vallies, and 
on the slopes of their mountains, the school house is seen, and 
the church not far distant. A sound and practical education 
enabled them to excel in the arts, and many of their manufac- 
tured articles have taken precedence of the world. It may here 
be added that the finer works of nearly every timepiece that we 
carry in our pockets, have originated from the workshops of that 
ingenious, free and independent nation. Such a people, whose 
knowledge has enabled them to find resources within themselves, 
are invincible. Their confederacy of free and independent states 



20 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 

has already lasted five and a lialf centuries. Italy, Austria, 
France and Bavaria successively strove for ages and centuries, 
to conquer them, — they invaded their land with fierce warriors, 
scaled their mountains, and carried fire and sword into the vil- 
lages of their peaceful vallies; but they were all compelled to 
retire in discomfiture and disgrace. Look at Protestant Germa- 
ny, with her unrivalled schools of learning. Select for instance 
Upper Saxony, — she has no river of commerce, and her natural 
soil is less productive than that of Austria, from which it is 
separated by no other land mark than a pillar of stone . Every 
child in the kingdom is taught to read and write and keep ac- 
counts. Her University at Dresden is an ornament, an honour 
and a blessing to the country. No traveller passing from Sax- 
ony into Bohemia, the neighbouring Territory of Austria, can 
fail to observe the vast difFei'ence, in all that constitutes an 
intelligent, prosperous and happy people, between an educated 
and an uneducated nation. 

In conclusion, you will yet indulge us in briefly relating an 
anecdote which we trust is not inappropriate to the occasion and 
the objects which have brought us together. 

Nineteen years ago, in one of our visits to the University of 
Berlin — the most eminent in the world — we were kindly con- 
ducted through the various halls of learning by the prime 
minister of the aged king, who has since deceased. In the 
course of a conversation in reference to the value of institutions 
of learning to a nation, he related the following very striking 
incidents. 

When Napoleon with his armies had overrun Prussia, and all 
Germany was lying prostrate at his feet, the king summoned his 
political ministers to his side. He inquired, in the look and 
language of despair, what in this emergency could be done ? 
After a long pause, one of his counsellors said: "We have tried 
all that physical power could effect; we filled our ranks with 
strong, brave and well-disciplined men, but our armies have been 
conquered — even our tall grenadiers from Potsdam have been 
prostrated— and now the heel of the oppressor is on our necks. 
I would advise that, as a last resort, we try the effect of intel- 
lectual and moral power. Let us educate the people of all ranks. 
Let us begin here at Berlin, and establish a university that will 
give a tone to every gymnasium and people's school in the 
kingdom. Let us give to all our people that knowledge which 



ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 21 

will enable them to build up the resources of their country, and 
that courage which will make them ready to defend it. Let 
religion, which teaches the love of country and the duty we owe 
to God and man, be inculcated in all our schools and seminaries 
of learning." That very day the erection of a university was 
decided on. Every child in Prussia was compelled by a law of 
the kingdom to attend school. Education was widely diffused 
among the people, and the intellectual man, from the highest 
nobleman to the poorest peasant, became educated. All protest- 
ant Germany became animated by the same zeal in the cause of 
education. In Prussia, education was compulsory by the laws 
of the land; in the adjoining kingdoms it became, at least, the 
law of custom. 

In the silent progress of time, a new arm of power was be- 
stowed on the nation. Science and the arts gave a stimulus to 
agriculture. Manufactures of all descriptions were carried into 
successful operation, and all the sinews of war became strenght- 
ened. By the general diffusion of knowledge, writings and 
speeches now eminated from the most intelligent of the common 
people; patriotic songs were composed and became naLional 
songs, a volume of which, entitled "The Lyre and the Sword," 
was written by Koerner, who was originally a volunteer soldier in 
the army. He, like Burns, a ploughman, and like Hogg, the 
Ettrick sheppard, sprung from the lower ranks of society, and 
was a poet by nature. He sung of the wrongs and oppressions 
of Germany, his native land — of patriotism and of the duty of 
sacrificing life for the good of our country. Through these in- 
strumentalities, the whole nation of Germany was roused up 
to a burning desire to free their country from foreign rule. An 
enthusiasm was awakened by these patriotic writings and dis- 
courses, and these touching and soul stirring melodies, scarcely 
equalled by the effect of the Marsailles hymn on the French, or 
the Ranz de vaches on the Swiss. Koerner fell on the field of battle, 
thus sealing his devotion to his fatherland with his blood. 

Let us now look at the sequel and mark the effect of education on 
the security and prosperity of a nation. Two thirds of a genera- 
tion had scarcely passed away when that very king with his army 
of heroes lived to become one of the conquerors at the battle of 
Waterloo, and to unite his victorious legions to those of the allies 
in their entrance into the streets of conquered Paris; and that 
now aged counsellor who had given the advice was before us. 



22 ADDRESS ON EDUCATION. 

Fellow citizens, and especially our Lutheran brethren: Your 
forefathers were long engaged in cultivating the physical and 
moral man. By the former they were enabled to fell the forest, 
and render their fields productive, and by the latter their charac- 
ters as men of integrity were established. Whilst yon are en- 
joying the fruits of their labors and the light of their religious 
example, resolve that you will now bring to your aid, another 
and an additional power — that power which can create new re- 
sources and surmount all difficulties — a power that gives a lever 
to move the world — the power of knowledge. Let that knowledge 
be regulated and controlled by the pure precepts of that gospel 
which deters from evil by a consciousness of accountability, and 
stimulates to goodness by the smiles of conscience and the ap- 
probation of God; then will you have fulfilled your mission as 
intelligent beings, and through the mercies of heaven may hope 
for the rewards of a blissful immortality. 




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